The lowly name tag is a ubiquitous artifact in trade shows, conventions, conferences and other meetings. Its value is essential to a successful conference or convention. Further, the usage of a name tag is rarely discussed, but always expected in organized large group meetings. The reason is that, at conferences and tradeshows, attendees expect to network, and name tags, sometimes referred to as “badges,” are essential in the networking process.
Name tags typically include the Attendee's name, job title, and organization. A submitted personal photo or company logo may be displayed. They might also include his or her department in a particular business, a functional business classification such as “finance” or “manufacturing,” or may identify a role in the conference, such as a “speaker” or “exhibitor.” Sometimes, an origination region or geographical area is also indicated. Since the goal of a name tag is to immediately convey understandable biographical information relevant to its wearer, the selection of that information is important. And, all that information must be packed into a small badge area, which means that the amount and type of information should be carefully selected.
Name tags must satisfy three conflicting challenges: (1) display readily visible and comprehensible information about the wearer, which necessitates a minimum font size; (2) include as much information as possible in a small and reasonably attractive badge size; and (3) present the information in a consistent, accurate and professional manner so attendees can comprehend the displayed information in a quick look at the name tag.
When attempting to satisfy these goals, the following issues can, for example, arise when:    (a) The person's name, job title, and employer name and logo are too long to fit in a defined badge space.    (b) The attendee is not permitted to supplement his formal name with their preferred nickname, such as for example, “Big Daddy.”    (c) The attendee is not permitted to include educational or honorific designations, such as “Dr.,” “PhD,” “J.D.”    (d) The attendee intends to replace accurate and useful information, such as “Sales,” with inaccurate or deceptive information, such as “Consulting.”    (e) The attendee intends to omit significant information, for example replacing “Director of Sales” with “Director.”
Hence, what is needed is a system to optimize the content placed onto a collection of name tags to be used in a meeting from a source of attendee biographical information to facilitate the networking goals of the meeting.